Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus was a stand-up comedy tour hosted by American radio personalities

Gregg "Opie" Hughes Gregg Hughes (born May 23, 1963) better known by his air name Opie, is an American radio personality and podcast host. He is best known as the former co-host of the ''Opie and Anthony'' radio show that aired from 1995 until 2014 with Anthony C ...

and

Anthony Cumia Anthony Cumia (born April 26, 1961) is an American shock jock, podcast, podcaster and broadcaster. He is the host of ''The Anthony Cumia Show'' on WABC (AM), WABC's ''Talkradio 77'' and the List of online video platforms, online video platform, ...

that featured a roster of comedians from their radio show, ''

Opie and Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

''. There were three editions of the tour between 2006 and 2008; the first consisted of 4 dates, the second had 8 dates, and the third consisted of a single show.Exclusive: Dates for Opie and Anthony Travelling Virus Comedy Tour leak
/ref>

History

By 2006, Hughes and Cumia, plus comedian Jim Norton on third mic, had been hosting ''Opie and Anthony'' on the uncensored subscription-based

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

service XM for over a year, from New York City. In April 2006, following the cancellation of ''

The David Lee Roth Show ''The David Lee Roth Show'' was a nationally syndicated American radio show hosted by musician David Lee Roth that aired from January 3 to April 21, 2006. It was the replacement of ''The Howard Stern Show'' following its departure from terrestria ...

'', the pair signed a deal with CBS Radio to simulcast the first half of the show on several of its terrestrial radio stations. Their deal with CBS allowed them to receive the green-light for the tour, ideas for which took shape in the following weeks and artist representative Peter Pappalardo was hired as the tour's organiser. Hughes and Cumia originally envisaged a package comedy tour with several comedians that were regular guests on the radio show, plus theatrical elements. Pappalardo tried to incorporate as many suggestions that the hosts and local promoters had come up with, and sold the tour as "an anything goes type of atmosphere" while adhering to local laws. Each stop on the tour featured the O&A Village, a series of exhibits and attractions including women giving back rubs while dressed in nurse outfits, booths designed by fans of the show, and a "petting zoo" featuring show regulars such as Twitchels and Stalker Patty. ''The Boston Globe'' described the tour as "a moving festival more comparable to

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

than a typical stand-up event."

Tours

2006

The first tour ran for four dates in August and September 2006, and was self-billed as The Comedy Event of 2006.

2007

The 2007 tour kicked off with one show in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 14. An additional seven shows were announced for the summer, which started on June 16.

2008

In 2008, plans to stage a full tour were cancelled in favor of a single show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, on August 2, 2008. Two days later, Hughes and Cumia announced on the air that the tour would no longer continue, due to the booing that newcomer

Mike Birbiglia Mike Birbiglia (; born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, director, producer and Emmy-nominated writer. He has written and performed a series of award-winning solo shows worldwide. His six solo shows, ''Sleepwalk With Me'', ''My Gi ...

received when he appeared on stage. Hughes revealed that

Dave Attell David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell.'' Early life Attell was born in the New York City borough of Queens to a Jewish fa ...

and

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

turned down an offer to perform due to the hostile crowds.

Tour dates and line-ups

Dates

*Show 1 — August 5, 2006 —

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

–

DCU Center The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester, formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum) is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, ...

Barenaked Ladies are making 16 multi-track studio recordings for their new single, "Easy," available for paid download from their...
/ref> *Show 2 — August 26, 2006 —

Holmdel, New Jersey Holmdel is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located near Raritan Bay in the Raritan Valley Region, the township is a regional commercial hub of Central Jersey, home to Bell Labs and PNC Bank Arts Center, and a ...

–

PNC Bank Arts Center The PNC Bank Arts Center (originally the Garden State Arts Center) is an amphitheatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. About 17,500 people can occupy the venue; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May ...

*Show 3 — September 9, 2006 —

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

– Tweeter Center *Show 4 — September 23, 2006 —

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

– Tower City Amphitheatre *Show 5 — April 14, 2007 —

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

– The Joint at

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a ...

*Show 6 — June 16, 2007 —

Wantagh, New York Wantagh ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated places, census-designated place (CDP) in the Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), New York, United Stat ...

– Jones Beach Amphitheater *Show 7 — June 30, 2007 —

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

–

Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in the Uncasville, Connecticut, Uncasville area of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurab ...

*Show 8 — July 21, 2007 —

Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is 23 miles southwest of Boston and is 22 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Is ...

– Tweeter Center *Show 9 — August 4, 2007 —

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

–

DTE Energy Music Theatre Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre) is an outdoor amphitheater located in Independence Township, Michigan, approximately northwest of Detroit. Built by the Nederlander Organization in the early 1970s, it is known as "Pine ...

*Show 10 — August 18, 2007 —

Bristow, Virginia Bristow is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community of Prince William County, Virginia, Prince William County about 30 miles (48 km) from Washington, D.C. It is situated between Manassas, Virginia and Gainesville, Virginia. As of 20 ...

–

Nissan Pavilion Jiffy Lube Live (originally known as the Nissan Pavilion) near Gainesville, Virginia, is an outdoor amphitheater in suburban Prince William County, about 35 miles west of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Live Nation, the amphitheater ca ...

*Show 11 — August 25, 2007 — Holmdel, New Jersey – PNC Bank Arts Center *Show 12 — September 15, 2007 — Camden, New Jersey – Tweeter Center *Show 13 — August 2, 2008 — Holmdel, New Jersey – PNC Bank Arts CenterSummer concert schedule for PNC Bank Arts Center announced
/ref>

Line-up

References

{{Opie and Anthony Comedy tours Anthony Cumia